


are you going to let 'em hold you down

by humanluke



Series: 1990s au [2]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1990s, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pop Star Luke Hemmings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 07:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30001596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanluke/pseuds/humanluke
Summary: luke and michael have a phone call.
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings
Series: 1990s au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198838
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	are you going to let 'em hold you down

**Author's Note:**

> oh look a little tiny glimpse into luke's life! hello everyone hope you are doing well!!! just want to give a thank you to [amanda](http://lifewasradical.tumblr.com) for helping me with the plot and to [molly](http://staticsounds.tumblr.com) for proofreading! this is for the prompt "eventually... you just move on", also from amanda! happy reading!
> 
> title is from _hold on_ by wilson phillips!

Luke just wanted to catch a break.

He’d spent his entire day smiling at fans, signing CDs and cassettes and taking pictures and then performing a show at the local record store. It was nice to be home, in California for a little while before he heads out on his _headlining_ tour across the states, but it wasn’t the same when he was by himself. 

As soon as he gets into the backseat of the car, he slumps against the seat a little bit, tired and worn out as he brushes blond hair out of his face. He hates how he has to pretend to be this perfect image for his label and his producers and his parents since they were still technically in charge of all of it. 

He thinks back to Michael, to their time together in his quaint little east coast town, about how easy and simple his life seemed. He knew it wasn’t, from the letters and the phone calls and the occasional email (once he’d convinced Michael to make one, that is). But the illusion of the small town life seemed nice enough from the outside. 

It was Thursday, however, and Thursdays were his and Michael’s phone call nights. He had a lot of thoughts going on in his head currently, sure, but the number one thing was to get home and talk to Michael. That was his top priority as he rests his head against the tinted glass of the car. 

“Don’t go falling asleep on me, I’m not carrying you inside again,” Calum gripes from the driver’s seat, looking back at him in the rear view mirror. Luke just laughs a little bit, tiredly, and looks at the time on his watch. It’s only 9pm, but that means it must be midnight for Michael. He knows Michael never complains no matter what time he calls, happy enough just to hear his voice, but Luke can’t help but feel the guilt twist at his insides when he calls so late. He wonders what Michael’s neighbors must think of him being on the phone so late. 

He’s certain they probably gossip about it, but he knows Michael’s used to it by now (or at least, he’s very good at pretending). 

“You know you would carry me inside if I fell asleep, Cal, you would just bitch at me about it in the morning,” he says with a chuckle, and Calum just sighs. He knows that Luke’s right about that. “Besides, even though I’m tired, I can’t sleep yet. It’s Thursday.” 

“Right. Michael phone call day,” Calum says pointedly. Luke smiles, glad that he remembers. “I’ll make myself scarce, then.” Luke makes a face. He remembers the last time Calum walked in on one of their weekly phone calls, and it was definitely one that was less on the innocent side. Calum had learned to make himself scarce after that one. Luke felt bad because not only had the moment been ruined for him and Michael, poor poor Calum had probably been scarred for life. At least Michael had gotten a good laugh out of it. (And they managed to get back on track before the end of the call.)

“Don’t think it’ll be one of those nights, Cal, but thanks for the consideration anyways,” Luke hums as they pull up to his house. It’s fairly small compared to most of his colleagues’ homes, but he didn’t need something big and over the top. Just something big enough for him (and one day, hopefully Michael too). He rubs at his eyes as Calum parks the car, dragging himself out of the vehicle and towards the stairs to the front door. 

“Careful there, sleepyhead, don’t fall asleep on your way up the stairs,” Calum warns. Luke gives him a worn smile, making his way up over the stairs slowly before letting himself in the front door. 

The first thing Luke sees is the flashing on his answering machine, and he knows it can only be one person leaving him a message while he’s working. Michael knows better (and refuses to call long distance, regardless of the promises that Luke will pay for it), and Calum is here with him. 

So he sighs and makes his way over to the machine, sitting down in front of it as he presses play. He doesn’t know why he even bothers listening to these messages — all they do is bring him stress. The grating sound of his mother’s voice on the other line makes the hairs on the back of Luke’s neck raise, complaining about this and that and doing whatever she can to try to micromanage Luke’s life from hours away. Luke dealt with it enough when he was a kid, a teen, but he’s almost 20 now, and he’s tired of being treated the same way he was when he was 8. 

The message stops and he presses the delete button, grabbing the cordless phone and heading to the stairs to his room. “I’m all good for the night, Cal, you can head home,” Luke says, looking to Calum in the doorway. He smiles a little bit. 

“You know where to find me if you need me,” he says, giving Luke a pointed look. Luke just nods and watches him head out the door, locking it behind him. He sighs again, running at his temples and hoping it’ll help lessen the headache building in his head caused by his mother’s incessant nagging over the phone. 

He takes a quick shower and changes into pajamas before climbing into his bed with the phone and dialing Michael’s number. It’s almost going on 1am there now, and he secretly hopes Michael is asleep and not waiting by the phone like he always does (although really, he just needs to hear his voice). 

But it doesn’t even get through a full ring before he hears the “Hello?” on the other line. Luke lets out a soft laugh, and he can hear the tiredness in Michael’s voice. He feels the guilt in the pit of his stomach again, but tries to push it aside -- he has enough negative feelings going on in his mind without the added guilt of keeping his boyfriend awake. 

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Luke muses, and Michael just hums tiredly on the other line. “Hey, if you’re tired, you can go to bed. We can talk tomorrow morning instead. I don’t have plans.”

“No, wanna talk now,” he says. He hears the telltale jingle of Leonardo DiCatrio’s collar in the background, and Luke smiles to himself. “How was your day? You sound tired too.” 

“It’s been… a day,” Luke sighs. “Better now that I’m talking to you. Make sure you give Leo some extra scratches from me.” Michael chuckles lowly on the other line. “I miss you. In case you were wondering.” 

“I miss you too,” Michael says, voice softer when the words come out. “You’re going back out on tour again soon, though, right? Your big headliner, right, mister pop star?” He can hear the teasing in Michael’s voice, light and innocent, and he can’t help but smile to himself. 

“With the final date in the city closest to you, of course,” he says softly. “It’s going to be a long three months, but… it’ll be worth it. Less phone calls and letters, but… we’ll make it work, right?” There’s a hesitation in his voice, like he thinks that somehow, Michael will find a way to move on without him. He knows his past, knows there’s no chance of it. Yet the thought is still nagging in the back of his head, whispering annoyances to him. 

“Of course we will, babe, don’t worry about it,” Michael reassures gently. “Everything will be fine.” Luke lets out a soft sigh, nodding to himself. He doesn’t know why he worries so much. Other than the fact that he’ll be a total outcast if their relationship is found out by the tabloids, but honestly, he could care less at this point. 

“Tell me about your day, I want to pretend I’m living a normal life for once,” Luke hums, sinking into his mattress a little bit. Michael chuckles on the other side of the line, and Luke wishes he could be there to hear it in person, to brush hair out of his face and laugh with him on the floor of his tiny apartment. Soon enough, he reminds himself. Only a few months, it’ll be fine. 

“Well, wasn’t all that interesting, honestly,” he laughs softly. “It’s the slower season, after holidays, so most of my shift is spent trying to pretend to be busy so Ashton doesn’t lose his mind on me. He’s been extra on edge lately, but he’s got stuff going on at home, so it makes sense.” Michael pauses, laughing a little. “You don’t need to hear about Ashton, sorry.”

“I like hearing about the people in your life, it makes me happy,” Luke smiles on the other line. He could listen to Michael ramble on about anything for hours, he’s certain. “Go on, continue.”

“Fine, fine,” Michael chuckles. “Anyways, it was a slow day. I worked the opening, so I’ve been up since 8 this morning, but I was off by 3 so I got a snack from the food court and then came home. I hung out with Leo, made grilled cheese for dinner, fell asleep for an hour watching X-Files… oh, and I restrung my guitar and started writing something.” Luke perks up a little bit.

“You started writing something?” he asks, intrigued. “Like, a song?” 

“Yeah,” Michael says softly on the other line. “It’s not anything yet, but… maybe it’ll be something by the time I see you again.” Luke bites his lip a little bit, pausing for a beat before prodding slightly. 

“Can I ask your advice about something?” Luke asks, changing the subject. His fingers are picking at a frayed string on his comforter. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. “You can say no if you don’t want to talk about it or whatever, but… I know you might understand.” 

“What is it?” Michael asks on the other end. 

“Was it hard? Having your ties severed with your family?” Luke asks. He can hear Michael’s breath hitch a little -- he knows it’s a touchy subject for him, but he needed someone who has experience. “My parents… they try to control every aspect of my life still, even though I’m an adult. They try to get a cut of everything, try to have input on everything… try to tell me who I should be seen with and who I shouldn’t.” He sighs a little into the phone. “I tried to come out to my mom once and she told me I was confused and then changed the subject, you know? I just… I don’t want that for my life.” Michael is quiet on the other line for a beat. 

“I think you should do whatever makes you happiest,” he says softly. “I mean, I know I didn’t have a choice in my matter. Do I miss my parents? Sure, I miss the hell out of them. But having that isn’t worth sacrificing who I am, you know? Or what I have now, or what I had then. And I mean, eventually… you just move on.” He pauses for a moment. “As long as you think that cutting them off and out is what’s going to make you happy, Lu, then I’m here to support you any way you need. You know, as much as I can from thousands of miles away.” Luke smiles into the phone a little bit. 

“Exactly what I wanted to hear,” he says with a grin. “Thank you, Michael. I’ll think about it, but… I think I would be happier. Plus, nothing could bring me more joy than firing my mother from being my manager.” Michael laughs a little bit on the other end. 

“Would love to be there to see that,” he chuckles. “Just know that I’m proud of you, yeah? For sticking up for yourself and taking this step to be more comfortably yourself.” Luke’s heart swells a little bit, and he smiles into the phone again. He’s not used to people telling him they’re proud of him. That’s probably part of the problem. 

“Thanks, Mikey,” he says affectionately. Luke looks over at the clock, and it reads 10:30. “I should let you go sleep. It’s late.” Michael whines a little on the other line, but he can hear the tiredness in the edges of his voice. 

“I like talking to you more,” he sighs. 

“I can call this weekend, I don’t have any shows. An extra phone call, just for my favorite person.” He can practically hear the way Michael is grinning into the phone. 

“Sounds like a deal,” he says tiredly. “I hope you get some rest, you need it too, Luke.” 

“My plan is to go right to sleep, don’t worry,” he laughs. “I’ll call you… Saturday? 8 your time?” 

“Sounds perfect,” he says softly. He pauses for a beat. “Love you, Luke.” Luke’s heart beats a little faster, the way it always does when he hears Michael say those words.

“Love you too, Mike,” he says with a grin. “Talk to you this weekend.” Michael hangs up first, and Luke sighs to himself before curling up, thoughts of seeing Michael again and cutting off his parents consuming his thoughts as he drifts off.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on [tumblr](http://cakelftv.tumblr.com)!


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